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Well, DUH, the issue of race will be brought up when you liken predominantly black (or Hispanic) organizations to gangs. Some of you should not be so naive as to think that it would not be.
Now, to give credit to that poster's perception: All GLOs (that spans from Kappa Alpha all the way to Kappa Alpha Psi) are technically a gang when using the loose definition of the term "gang." We have colors, symbols, and a certain groupthink mentality that overrides the individual. I have definitely been around black fraternities and seen where the MEMBERS (which is separate from the ORGANIZATION as a whole) acted as gang members. This is just a reminder that our organizations have thousands of members from different walks of life. Some members actually were (perhaps some still are) gangs members--others just subscribe to the violently expressed group think mentality.
It also depends on WHAT made you think "gangs" when you saw these black fraternities. Is it because they were doing some things that are traditions to their organization? If so, you might want to get to understand the reasoning behind their behaviors. However, if they were doing some violent or lude things (the poster mentioned shooting--but are you SURE that it was the frat members shooting as opposed to some nonmembers?) that place their organization in a negative light and create an antagonistic environment, then you are well within your right to perceive them in a negative light. Just know that the college educated gang mentality exists in some members of Sigma Chis as much as it exists in some members of Omega Psi Phi, for example. It isn't race-based.
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